One Of The Beautiful People
by crusading-saint
Summary: What goes on inside Tiffany Blum-Deckler's head? What are her thoughts, her fears, and her loves?


****

One Of The Beautiful People.

Tiffany Blum-Deckler awakes and stares at the ceiling. It's a ritual that she has done every morning for as long as she can remember. Every morning she awakes and stares at the ceiling. There is a certain disorientation that takes Tiffany when she wakes. It takes her a few moments to remember where she is and what she is doing. 

To Tiffany, this seems normal, but she has a niggling feeling that this is not how things should be. From the little she has gleaned, not everyone has this much trouble getting everything together in the morning. 

She shrugs off the feeling, as she does every morning, and gets out of bed. Her alarm is deliberately set two hours early, so as to facilitate her own particular wardrobe quirks. These mainly consist of an amazing inability to decide what she should wear. Tiffany has a fairly astounding collection of designer clothes for a girl her age, but she can never pick anything that she believes makes her look beautiful. Everything she picks looks wrong on her. Tiffany can't place exactly what she does not like about her reflection, but it bothers her all the same. She suspects that certain items of clothing might make her look fat, but no one she knows will ever tell her that. 

Whether it is because Tiffany never looks fat, or simply that her friends would not tell her even if she did, Tiffany does not know. She does not trust her friends very much, and that also bothers her. 

The morning ritual over, Tiffany finally selects an aquamarine dress that clings to her body and shows off her legs. Tiffany thinks it is very unflattering on her, but she knows that Sandi approves of it. Sandi knows best, of course. 

Fully prepared for the day, Tiffany goes into the final part of her daily regime. This just consists of her sitting in front of her bedroom mirror for about half an hour to an hour. Tiffany does not know why she does this, just that it is something that she feels she must do. 

The girl in the mirror stares back at Tiffany. It does not look like much is going on upstairs. This, as it does every morning, bothers Tiffany to quite an extent. She is unhappy with herself, and her life, but does not know what to do about it. 

Sighing, she makes her way downstairs. Her parents are at breakfast. They pay little attention to her, as usual. Tiffany decides to check something before she leaves for the day. 

"Does this dress make me look fat?" she says slowly. 

Her parents give no more than a cursory look at her before answering. "Of course not, dear," they both say. Not together, but it might as well be for the similarity of their answers. 

Tiffany is vaguely unsatisfied with their answers, as usual, but decides to trust them. They are her parents, after all, and they wouldn't lie to her. 

Frowning, Tiffany heads out of the door, and begins to make her way to school. 

Tiffany's route to school usually takes her through downtown Lawndale. A rather picturesque route, but Tiffany rarely notices what is going on around her. She is lost in her own thoughts. To anyone that knows her, this may seem unusual, but Tiffany spends most of her time in her own company. 

Tiffany is a member of Lawndale High's Fashion Club, consisting of the best and brightest Lawndale has to offer, at least in the field of looking really good, and knowing exactly what is and isn't in style at any given moment. However, she doesn't feel like part of the best and brightest. In fact, she is pretty sure that she is one of the dullest people Lawndale has to offer. 

Tiffany, as mentioned above, is not very secure in her own looks. She is fully convinced that she is dull and ugly. The contradiction of why Sandi would keep her in the Fashion Club if she looked that way weighs on her mind rather heavily. 

Tiffany also knows that, to put it mildly, she is not the sharpest tool in the toolshed. Things don't come normally to Tiffany as they do to other people. She has to concentrate to a great degree to do any sort of strenuous thinking. Because of this, her style of speaking is slow, to say the least. She knows this, and she knows that other people would make fun of her for this. So, she tries to speak as little as possible. In the Fashion Club, that's easy. All she really has to do there is take the occasional note and agree with whoever is winning at the time. She also knows that as long as she stays in the Fashion Club, no-one will dare make fun of the way she speaks, for fear of Sandi coming down on them. 

As for the Fashion Club itself, Tiffany isn't very satisfied with that. She only stays there because she knows that she has no other friends outside it, and for the two reasons above. 

She also has a suspicion that Sandi only keeps her around as a slow-witted yes-man, but it's not like Tiffany has any other choice. 

Tiffany sighs to herself, as she does every morning. This all bothers her rather a lot, as usual. However, Tiffany knows that she doesn't have the brains to figure a way out of it, so she just puts up with it. However, she wishes that she just had someone, anyone, to talk to about this. Anyone would do. Stacy is too high strung, and Quinn and Sandi...well, that's a whole different story. 

She reaches Lawndale High, and goes inside. She walks to the usual meeting point of the Fashion Club, and finds them there. Things appear to be heated, though. Sandi and Quinn are arguing, and Stacy is standing off to the side, looking terrified. 

Tiffany walks over. "What's wrong?" she says slowly. 

"It's Sandi and Quinn," says Stacy nervously. "Apparently they both scheduled a date with a guy for the same night, and now they're both annoyed about it. Quinn just found out, and I think she's mad."

"Oh," says Tiffany, walking over closer to the other two so that she can hear them. Sandi and Quinn don't even notice that she's arrived. 

"I just don't understand," says Sandi. "How Gary could have forgotten that you were supposed to be dating him that night."

"It is a mystery," says Quinn. 

"It's almost like someone told him that your date was off, and he went to me."

"Except that no-one I know would do something like that," says Quinn, her eyes shooting daggers at Sandi. 

"Why Quinn," says Sandi, shooting her own barrage of evil looks back. "You wouldn't be accusing me of doing that?"

"Of course not, Sandi," says Quinn with an insincere laugh. "You'd never do anything like that, I know."

"Mmmm," says Sandi. "Of course, that still leaves us with a problem. How we resolve this."

"Well," says Quinn. "I don't mind. You can go out with him."

"Oh Quinn," coos Sandi with mock surprise. "I wouldn't want to do that to you. After all, you have been having so few dates lately. I wouldn't want you to miss out."

"Don't be silly, Sandi," laughs Quinn, even more insincerely than last time (if that's possible). "I have plenty of dates lined up. You go right ahead."

Sandi gives Quinn the most evil look possible and smiles. "Why thank you, Quinn."

"You're welcome, Sandi." Quinn excuses herself, and walks into the bathroom. 

Sandi stands glowering after her. Stacy is relieved that the fighting is over for now, and scurries off to places unknown. Tiffany mentally sighs and walks over to Sandi.

"That was so wrong how she tried to turn that back on you."

Sandi glances up. "I _know. _As _if_ I would do something so petty as to mess with Quinn's dates just for fun. And her acting so gracious...God, I _hate _that."

"I know," says Tiffany.

"Well," says Sandi, with a smile. "At least I did get the date out of it."

"That's right," drawls Tiffany with a smile. "Doesn't his father have a boat?"

"Oh yes," says Sandi. "Hopefully it won't take a million hints for him to take me there."

"Boys can be so slow."

"I know." Sandi grins and walks off. 

Tiffany watches her go, and then turns to the bathroom. Now for the second part. She walks in to find Quinn checking her make-up in the mirror. Quinn turns and smiles when she sees who it is. 

"Hey, Tiffany."

Tiffany walks over. "Her stealing your date like that was so wrong."

Quinn frowns and looks back to the mirror. "I know. Does she think that I wouldn't figure out that it was her? How stupid does she think I am, anyway?"

"I don't know," says Tiffany, in a confused tone. She can't figure out if that question needed to be answered or not. Those sorts of questions always stump her. 

Quinn either does not notice Tiffany's confusion or figures it to be normal. "Well, I don't care. She can have him if she's so desperate for dates. She's just jealous."

"For sure."

Quinn finishes her makeup, and leaves the bathroom, giving Tiffany a smile as she does. After she leaves, Tiffany turns and looks in the mirror. Her reflection has always bothered Tiffany. She does not like to look at it. There is another mirror in the school that she thinks adds ten pounds. She hates that mirror most of all.

Turning away, she walks out of the bathroom. What has just transpired with Sandi and Quinn is nothing unusual. It happens most days, if not every day. Tiffany does not like it when it happens, but she always reacts the same way. She always supports both of them - separately, of course. It wouldn't do to support one over the other in a position where the other could see it. 

Tiffany does this because she feels that this way, they will both keep her around, figuring she will always support them. Otherwise, Tiffany fears that they will realize how dimwitted and unattractive she really is, and kick her out. Stacy would go along with that. She doesn't have the courage to stand up for Tiffany, even if she wanted to, of course. 

The thought of being kicked out of the Fashion Club terrifies Tiffany. Then she would be alone. She does not know how to make friends. She has no gift for social interaction. Most people are irritated by her slow voice. As if she could help it. 

No, Tiffany must stay in the Fashion Club. It's all she has. It is her comfort zone. Without that, she is nothing, and if she knows little else, she knows that. 

Tiffany thinks back to a time when she tried other things. 

She was in an uncharacteristically brave mood that day, the other members having boosted her ego. She can't remember how, but they had. So she had wondered, maybe she could survive out of the Fashion Club. Maybe she could forge an identity for herself. 

In a fit of rare confidence, Tiffany had volunteered to be a career counselor. Mr. O'Neill had asked for volunteers, and Tiffany had done so. She helped people in the Fashion Club, so she figured it couldn't be that different to help them in a different way.

The rest of the club hadn't known, of course. They would not have approved. 

Sadly, her first subject was that weird girl who lived at Quinn's house. Tiffany had tried to do her best, but O'Neill had thrown her in with almost no training, and the sheer volume of papers she had been left with had totally confused her. 

The weird girl got sick of waiting, and stormed out, muttering unflattering comments about Tiffany on the way. Tiffany was devastated, quit on the spot, and spent the rest of the day sobbing her eyes out in the bathroom. 

No-one had noticed. Quinn had been the only other person to see her that day, but if she had seen Tiffany's red-rimmed eyes, she had not said anything. 

After that, Tiffany retreated to her comfort zone, resigned to the fact that she was not smart enough or quick enough to do anything else of worth. The Fashion Club was all she had. 

****

Later on that day, Tiffany and the rest of the Fashion Club are at Sandi's house, having a meeting. Quinn and Sandi are now back to something approaching normal, and the discussion is on shoes. 

Tiffany is not really paying attention, and chimes in with 'yes' or 'ew' at the appropriate moment. No-one notices that her heart is not in it.

The meeting concludes, and of course, Sandi has to get a jibe in at Quinn before she goes about her date tonight. Quinn smiles and leaves. Tiffany sighs heavily. 

At this, the other two look round at her and look surprised. 

"Tiffany, dear, did you say something?" says Sandi. 

"No."

"It sounded like you...sighed or something," says Stacy, as if the idea of Tiffany knowing enough about anything to be disenchanted is silly. 

Tiffany is used to people thinking that about her. It's not a million miles from the truth. "I'm fine," she drawls. 

Stacy frowns some more, but Sandi shrugs. "Whatever. I have to get ready for my date."

Stacy and Tiffany nod, and walk out after Sandi shows them to the door. Tiffany turns to go back to her house, but Stacy clears her throat as she does so.

"Tiffany?"

Tiffany turns. "Yes?"

Stacy scratches her head nervously. "It really sounded like you were sighing in there, and I was wondering if you were thinking about anything, because I always sigh like that when I'm thinking, not that I'm unhappy or anything, and don't tell Sandi I said anything."

"I'm okay," says Tiffany slowly. "I'm not thinking about anything."

"Of course not," says Stacy with relief. "You thinking about things would be..." She realizes what she said, and puts her hand up to her mouth. "Oh! I didn't mean..."

Tiffany feigns ignorance. She always does that. That way people will think that she has not understood what they have said. Tiffany would rather they think that than know how badly she hurt inside. However, this time she knows that her face probably looks like she is about to burst into tears at any moment. She doesn't want Stacy to see that, so she turns and walks away quickly. 

As she walks quickly home, she can hear Stacy call out from behind her, but she ignores her. She can't let anyone in the Fashion Club know how she feels. She knows what they think of her. Stacy didn't mean to say that, but it's what she was thinking. 

She can feel tears running down her face, but she does nothing to stop them. _No-one cares_, she thinks. _No-one really cares about me. They only keep me around as someone to agree with them. They think I'm stupid and they're right_. 

Tiffany Blum-Deckler walks home in utter misery, wishing that her world would change. She remembers a song she heard once - she can't remember who it was by, but she was sure that it was not on the Fashion Club list of approved music. It asked _"How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?"_

For Tiffany, it doesn't feel good.

****

The next morning, Tiffany awakens, and goes through the same ritual she did the day before. This time, however, she lingers on each step. She can't seem to muster up the energy this morning. She knows it's because of what happened yesterday. She knows that she is getting tired of her life, and she does not know how to change it. She wishes again that she could talk to someone about this. She isn't smart enough to figure out what to do. Someone else might be. 

But that will never happen, Tiffany thinks, and with good reason. No-one would ever like her for who she is. She's simply not that interesting. 

She finishes dressing and looks herself over in the mirror before going to school. She hates what she sees. 

She turns from the mirror, and walks downstairs. Today, she doesn't even ask her parents if she looks fat. They don't notice the difference. It's not a surprise, but it still hurts.

Tiffany walks to school without noticing or caring about the world around her. As she walks through downtown Lawndale, she stops suddenly. She does not know why she stops, but she stands rooted in one spot for the longest time. All that is running through her head is the fact that she does not want to go to school today. The same thing will happen today that happens every day, and Tiffany is sick of it. 

Eventually, though, she continues on her way. She can't think of any other way to do things apart from what she has always done, and that angers her more than anything.

Tiffany arrives at school a few minutes later, and she is immediately greeted at the door by a contrite Stacy. 

"Tiffany!" says Stacy nervously. 

"Hi, Stacy," says Tiffany in her normal voice. 

"Tiffany, I'm really sorry about what I said," says Stacy, looking like she's on the verge of tears. "I was really, really out of line and don't tell Sandi..."

"What did you say?" says Tiffany slowly. She knows that playing dumb will get this matter over nice and quick, and then things will be back to normal, hated though that state is. 

"Oh!" says Stacy, obviously relieved. "Never mind - it was nothing. Not important enough to go over again."

"Yeah," says Tiffany. She looks around, and it becomes apparent that Sandi and Quinn are elsewhere. This is unusual. "Where are Quinn and Sandi?"

"Oh..." Stacy thinks for a second. "Oh yes! There's this new guy in school and they just had to go check him out because you know what those two are like when it comes to guys and..." She clasps her hand over her face. "Oh God! Don't tell them I said that, will you?"

"Said what?" says Tiffany, for real this time. She was not listening to Stacy after the first part. Tiffany knows that if this guy is cute, then Quinn and Sandi will instantly start fighting over him. She is sick to death over their sniping and backbiting, particularly the role she plays in it. 

"Anyway," says Stacy, "there's this new guy, and he's _really _cute. I know that Quinn and Sandi are going to be all over themselves for him."

"Yeah," says Tiffany absent-mindedly. "Where are they?"

Stacy glances down the corridor. "Down there. They found him coming out of Li's office, and now they're trying to sink their hooks if you know what I mean."

Tiffany does not. "Huh?"

"Never mind." Stacy shakes her hand in dismissal. "I would be down there too, but I felt I had to apologize to you and stuff, for what I said."

Tiffany really doesn't want to bring that up again. "Huh?" she says, acting as spacey as she can. 

"Never mind," says Stacy again. "Hey, you want to find those two?" Tiffany nods, and they set off. "I came down too," continues Stacy. "Because guys like that never seem to give me a second glance. Have you ever noticed that?"

Tiffany does not say anything, and stares straight ahead.

"Never mind," says Stacy with a sigh. "It doesn't matter."

Of course it doesn't, mulls Tiffany. You can't do anything about it anyway. None of us can." She looks up as the duo round a corner and notices Quinn and Sandi. They walk down the corridor on either side of an unfamiliar boy - the new boy, probably. 

Tiffany has to admit that he is cute. He is tall, though not too tall as to appear gangly or awkward. He has the perfect build, neither too skinny or an overly muscled freak. He has light brown hair, neatly styled, and a facial structure to die for. He also has the cutest brown eyes. His clothes are a mix of the latest styles, perfectly picked to complement themselves. 

Her membership in the Fashion Club has left Tiffany perfectly suited to judge boys on these levels, and she has to admit that he passes on all of them. Aces it, even. She can already see that Sandi and Quinn will be all over each other to reel this one in for themselves. 

Tiffany almost feels sorry for him in a way. They will devote their entire energies to capturing him before the other, and then once they do, they will drop him after one date, or maybe even two. All he is is a prawn in the battle between the two. 

Tiffany wonders if 'prawn' was the right word to use there. She thinks that it is, but can't be sure. While she is mulling this over, she realizes that Stacy is talking, and that Tiffany has zoned the outside world out again. She does this far too much. 

"Sandi!" says Stacy. "I've been looking all over for you."

__

"Stacy," says Sandi with a frown. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Oh!" says Stacy. "I didn't mean to interrupt you, Sandi. Really."

"That's okay," says Quinn from the other side of the new boy. "You weren't interrupting anything. In fact, you may even have saved Sandi from the embarrassment of forgetting what is and isn't in style this month, and I'm sure she's grateful for that." She gives Sandi a very sweet smile. 

Sandi tries to do the same, but it comes across as more of a grimace. "Yes, thank you, Stacy. Now if you're quite finished..."

Sandi's voice fades out in Tiffany's head, as she takes another look at the new boy, and she realizes that he is looking at her. Really looking at her. This is a bit of a surprise for Tiffany. Of course, people look at her, she's in the Fashion Club. No matter how Tiffany feels about her own looks, her membership in this club will ensure that. However, the way this boy is looking at her is different. 

Normally, boys look at Quinn or Sandi, or even Stacy, before settling on her. Tiffany knows that she is the booby prize as far as the Fashion Club is concerned. But this boy has zoned out the others and is focusing on her. 

He breaks away from the other two and walks over. Quinn and Sandi blink in surprise as he does so. He stops in front of Tiffany and scratches the back of his head nervously. "Hi," he says, with a hint of shyness. 

"Hi," says Tiffany, a little surprised by this. 

"My name's Steven," he says. "Steven Bishop."

"Oh," says Tiffany. There is a brief pause. Tiffany, confused by this unusual turn of events, forgets for the moment that she is supposed to say her own name at this point.

"That's Tiffany," says Sandi in a tone that screams "can we get back to talking about _me _now?" 

"Tiffany," says Steven. "That's a nice name."

"Is it?" says Tiffany with a frown. 

Steven smiles. It is a very nice smile. "That's pretty funny."

Tiffany becomes aware that perhaps this conversation is not going the right way and she decides not to say any more. She just smiles at him. He smiles back and glances at his watch. "I've got to be in class in a few minutes," he says. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"You will?"

He smiles again. "I think so." He walks away without a much as a glance at the other members of the Fashion Club. Tiffany stands, surprised at what has just happened. 

Sandi makes a derisive noise. "He's probably gay." She walks off. Quinn just shrugs and follows her. 

Stacy walks over to Tiffany, who stands in a slight daze - more dazed than usual, that is. "Oh my God! Tiffany!"

"What?" says Tiffany. 

"That guy! The new guy! He was so totally into you!" Stacy beams.

"He was?" says Tiffany. This never happens to her, and she can't be sure that this isn't some sort of cruel joke. It wouldn't take much to fool her, she has to admit. 

"Sure!" gushes Stacy. "I've seen how guys look at girls when they're really into them. It's that look that those three guys get when they're around Quinn. Joey and Jeffy and the other one. I mean, no guys ever looked at me that way." Stacy's voice goes kind of distant. "And they probably never will, but..."

__

No guy has ever looked at me that way either, thinks Tiffany. "I don't know," she says slowly.

"I do!" says Stacy, and she walks off. Tiffany stands in the corridor by herself, wondering what has just happened. At least Stacy stopped mentioning what happened yesterday. Better she think that Tiffany has no idea what happened than think anything else. Of course, there was still the matter of that guy...

Tiffany shakes her head slowly. It's too much to think about at one time. She puts aside, and walks off to class. 

****

After school is over, Tiffany walks home. Now that all outside distractions are gone, she is free to think about that guy again. Tiffany finds it difficult to think with a lot of stuff going on outside her head. 

Is it possible that that guy - Steven - really thought she was more attractive or interesting than the Fashion Club on a first glance? Tiffany does not think that that is possible. She knows she is not as attractive as the others. Maybe he was just attracted by her silence. Tiffany once read that guys were intrigued by women who act mysteriously. That was probably it. Well, even if he had been intrigued by the first meeting, that would go away as soon as he spent any time talking to her, Tiffany knew that.

Tiffany is not short on dates. As a member of the Fashion Club, that just wouldn't be possible. However, Tiffany attributes her number of dates solely to the fact that she is in the club, not because of any great beauty on her part. Furthermore, the number of repeat dates she gets is zero. 

Sandi discourages repeat dates, but it still would be nice to get some boys interested in having one with her. Tiffany knows the reason, though. She knows that she is slow. She knows she is uninteresting. She knows that once a guy starts on a date with her, he will find out just how boring she is and not want to do it any more, Fashion Club or not. 

This is just one of the reasons why Tiffany is so unhappy all the time. 

When she thinks about Steven, she figures that this will happen with him too, once he gets to know her. It's inevitable. She decides to put him out of her mind. No point in getting excited about something that will just turn back and hurt her. It's happened before, and Tiffany does not want it to happen again. 

She forgets the matter, and continues home. 

****

The next day, Tiffany walks to school. She has been quite successful in putting all thoughts of Steven Bishop out of her head and has not given him a second thought since yesterday. 

However, that all changes when she gets within a few blocks of Lawndale High. A voice behind her says 'hi'. She turns and sees Steven standing there with an awkward look on his face. 

"I hope you don't mind," he says quickly. "I was kind of waiting for you."

"For me?" says Tiffany. He nods. "But...why?"

"Well..." He scratches the side of his head nervously. "I wanted to talk to you."

Oh dear. Tiffany immediately begins to think that this is not such a great idea. Once he starts talking to her, he'll realize how stupid and boring she is, and Tiffany does not want another person in Lawndale High thinking that. She suspects there's a small army that do already. But...she doesn't know how she could get away from this. "Talk about what?" she says, after a long pause. 

Steven shifts from foot to foot nervously. "Um. Well...we don't have a lot of classes together, I don't think, so I didn't think I'd get a chance otherwise..." His voice tails off and he glances down at the ground nervously. 

Tiffany hasn't a clue as to how this conversation is supposed to go. "I don't understand," she says slowly. 

"Will you go out with me?" asks Steven suddenly. "There. I said it."

Tiffany blinks in surprise. She doesn't know what to say, so she goes with what she knows. "Does Sandi know about this?"

"Sandi?" Steven thinks for a moment. "Oh yes. Her. Um. No, I didn't tell anyone else." He frowns "Why?"

Tiffany mentally kicks herself. She shouldn't have said that. It was true that Sandi did usually like to veto who the Fashion Club did and didn't date, but no-one else needed to know that. "Um." She doesn't know what to say after that, so she just tails off. She knows she sounds stupid, but why change the habit of a lifetime? 

"Who was that Sandi person anyway?" he asks suddenly. 

"She's the head of the Fashion Club," says Tiffany in surprise. She thought everyone knew that. 

"What's the Fashion Club? Was that what that Sandi girl was talking about yesterday?"

__

Oh. Of course. He only started yesterday, thinks Tiffany. He wouldn't know yet. A though suddenly occurs to her. He didn't know what the Fashion Club was. That meant he was not asking her out solely because she was in the Fashion Club. That meant he must be asking her out because he was interested in her for her. Tiffany is stunned. That's never happened to her before. 

Steven looks at her for a second, looking like he doesn't quite know what's going on. "So?" he says finally. 

"So what?" Tiffany is still in a bit of a daze. Even more of a daze than usual, that is. 

"Will you go out with me tonight?" he asks again. "That is," he adds quickly, "if you don't mind. I mean, I know we only met yesterday, but I'd still like to do it, if you want."

"Yes," says Tiffany quickly, by her standards. "I'd like that."

"So...I'll pick you up tonight?" he adds. "I wanted to do it before school started. Ask you that is. I figured you must have a lot of guys asking you out, so I wanted to get in there first, if you know what I mean."

Tiffany is kind of lost, and the unusual situation isn't helping her concentrate any better, so she just nods and says "Yeah." She does remember to give Steven her address.

"Great!" He beams. "I'll see you tonight then. Around eight?"

"Sure," says Tiffany. Steven gives her a final smile and walks off, leaving Tiffany in a daze. This has never happened to her. What if it was all just a trick to get her hopes up, and then cut her down? 

Tiffany doesn't think anyone ever considered her deep enough to have hopes and fears. No-one would waste energy pulling a trick like this on her, which means his offer is genuine, and that surprises Tiffany more than anything.

After a few more minutes of wondering exactly what to think, Tiffany finally decides that she had better get to school. It's getting late. Before long, she arrives at the Fashion Club's usual meeting spot and sees that everyone else is already there. Sandi does not look very happy. 

"Tiffany," she says. "You're late. I thought you knew we were having an emergency meeting before school today?"

"What?" says Tiffany, still a little dazed. This is a lot for her to process at one time. 

Sandi sighs. "I forgot who I was talking to. Never mind."

Tiffany nods, not even having noticed the slam. 

"Where were you?" asks Quinn. "It's not like you to be late."

"Oh," says Tiffany, and pauses. Should she tell them about what happened? They would find out sooner or later, anyway. "I was asked out," she says. 

Sandi and Quinn both look at each other, and then back to Tiffany. "What?" asks Sandi in disbelief.

"I was asked out," says Tiffany, confused. She knew she said it loud enough the first time. 

"By who?" asks Quinn. Tiffany knows that Quinn is not being malicious. She is genuinely curious. This _is _rare. Normally Tiffany has to rely on Sandi's influence to get enough dates to fill the Fashion Club's quota. Tales about how boring she is on a date have spread around Lawndale High's male population over the past few years. 

"That new boy," says Tiffany slowly. "Steven."

Sandi makes a derisive noise. "Oh. I _see_. Well, he's only new. He probably hasn't figured out who the best pick from the Fashion Club would be. Give him time, though."

Tiffany figured that Sandi would react like this, so she tries not to let it bother her. 

"That's great!" gushes Stacy. "He is _so _cute! Where are you going?"

"Stacy," says Sandi. "Weren't we supposed to be having a meeting, or something?"  
Stacy withers. "Sorry."

Quinn looks over to Sandi. "Sandi, this is a big thing for Tiffany. Maybe we should talk about this some more."

"Oh, I'm sorry," says Sandi. "I didn't know that my leadership meant so little to all of you."

"Oh, Sandi," says Quinn. "Don't be silly. I just meant that we should try to support one of our members when something like this happens."

"Gosh Quinn, if that's how you think the club should be run, maybe _you_ should be the president of the Fashion Club."

"Oh Sandi, I could never replace you," says Quinn with mock sincerity. This is the dance they do almost every day. By now, it's almost as if they're just reciting a script. Sandi snorts and walks off down the corridor. Quinn sighs and walks off in a different direction. 

Tiffany watches them go. Sandi pulls the old storming off trick every once in a while. Things will be back to normal tomorrow. 

Stacy wanders over. "Don't tell Sandi I said this," she says. "But I think she's just jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"You," says Stacy. 

Tiffany is floored. The thought of anyone being jealous of her for any reason boggles her mind. "Why?"

"I know she thought that guy was cute, and she wanted to get to him before Quinn did." Stacy shrugs. "But I guess he found you first."

Tiffany is still stunned by this, but she does not say so. 

"If you want," says Stacy. "If you want, I could help you get ready for your date tonight. She pauses, looking worried. "Oh, but you won't tell Sandi I said that, will you? She'd kill me."

"I won't," says Tiffany. "I _would_ like it if you would help me get ready."

Stacy beams. "I'd love that! I mean, how long has it been since you've been on a date, I mean one you really really looked forward to?"

"A while," says Tiffany quietly. She can't remember, to tell the truth. 

"I'll come over to your house later," gushes Stacy. "This is going to be so cool!"

Tiffany isn't so sure, however. This all seems a little too good to be true. She still isn't sure that this isn't all some sort of elaborate plan to humiliate her. Tiffany doesn't think she could take it if that happened. She has low enough self-esteem as it is. 

****

That night at home Tiffany is thinks about the whole situation. It is now almost six o'clock, and she has a major case of cold feet. The disturbing possibility of the date being a sham weighs heavily on her mind. She does not know whether to go through with it or to cancel it before she gets hurt. 

She decides she can't go through with it. The situation really is too good to be true. The idea that a guy could pick her over the others in the Fashion Club, that he would think she was more beautiful or interesting than the others...that is too much to swallow. 

She will cancel it right now. She gets up, and feels nauseated. She's probably made herself sick with all this worrying, she thinks. 

Tiffany sits down again, and waits for her stomach to settle. It does so fairly gradually, as Tiffany tries to remain calm. This whole affair is stressing her out. 

As she sits in her room, someone knocks on her door. "Come in," Tiffany calls, mildly startled. The door opens to reveal Stacy with a big smile on her face. "Hi!" 

"Hi," says Tiffany. 

Stacy frowns as she walks over to Tiffany. "Tiffany, you haven't even started getting ready yet!"

"I..." Tiffany tails off. She feels better, but decides that feeling ill is a good cover. "I don't feel well."

"Nervous?" says Stacy. 

"No," lies Tiffany. Tiffany is an excellent liar, and she knows it. Her tone of voice rarely changes, so no-one can ever tell when she is not telling the entire truth, which is most of the time.

However, tonight it doesn't seem to work. "Tiffany," says Stacy, with a smile. "I know how getting all worried about a big date can get you all nervous and sick. I do it all the time!" Tiffany can believe this. "You don't have to pretend. I know what's going on."

"I..." Tiffany pauses. There seems little point in hiding it now. "I'm a little nervous."

"I know how you feel." Stacy sits down beside Tiffany. "But this guy is _so _cute, and I think he's really into you. I mean, he asked you out after meeting you one time! That's never happened to me."

"Me neither," says Tiffany slowly. 

"So you're going to go, right?" 

"I..." Tiffany thinks about it for a moment. "I guess," she says finally. Maybe Stacy was right. Maybe he was really into her. If she didn't go, she'd never know, would she?

Stacy beams. "Great!" She gets up. "Let's get you ready! This is going to be so awesome!"

Tiffany certainly hopes so. She is taking a risk here, and that's something she never does. It had better be worth it, she thinks. 

****

An hour and a half later, Tiffany stands in front of the full length mirror in her room, staring at her reflection. She has to admit that Stacy has done a wonderful job. Tiffany doesn't look quite as unattractive as she once believed. The lilac blue dress is definitely her color and it accentuates her body in all the right ways. Couple that with the matching purse and shoes and for the first time in as long as she can remember, Tiffany believes that she actually looks quite good. 

Stacy beams as she surveys her work. "I think you look great! Who says I haven't learned anything with the Fashion Club!"

"Sandi," says Tiffany. 

"Oh." Stacy pauses. "Well, that was a rhetorical question."

"Huh?"

Stacy shrugs. "Never mind. How do you feel?"

Tiffany looks at herself again. "Better."

"Great!" Stacy walks over to the bed and sits down. Tiffany follows her, making sure not to crease her dress as she does. 

"Thank you," says Tiffany, smiling a little at Stacy. 

"It was the least I could do," says Stacy. She frowns. "I...I still feel kind of guilty about what I said the other day. I didn't mean it, you know."

Tiffany knows that she didn't mean it, but she doesn't want to go over this again. "Mean what?"

"It's okay, Tiffany," says Stacy with a sigh. "I know that you're not quite as...able to let things go as you pretend."

Tiffany does not know quite what to say to that. "I..."

"And I know that you probably feel like you're kind of on the second rung of the Fashion Club, cause I know I do, and I think about it all the time, and Sandi and Quinn are just so pretty that I can't compete, and you're prettier than I am, but I know you might think the same way..." She tails off to prevent herself from hyperventilating. 

Tiffany is stunned. She'd always thought that everyone always wrote her off as a slow-witted idiot who never noticed the world around her. She had no idea that anyone even suspected that she was hiding something. "I..." What the hell. If she was going to take a risk tonight, she should just go ahead and take another one. "I do kind of feel that way," she says tentatively. 

"I knew it!" says Stacy. "I thought it was just me!"

"No..."

"Do you ever feel like boys are just going out with you just because you're in the Fashion Club?"

Tiffany nods sadly. "Yes."

"Me too!" Stacy sighs. "Of course, you're a lot prettier than I am, but..."

"What?" Tiffany frowns. Did she hear that right? "I'm not pretty."

"Oh my God!" says Stacy, her eyes growing wide. "Did you just say what I thought you said?"

"I don't know what you thought I said," says Tiffany with some confusion. 

"Tiffany, you are SO beautiful," gushes Stacy. "God, I wish I was half as pretty as you sometimes..."

Tiffany frowns. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No!" Stacy smiles. "I didn't know you didn't think you were attractive."

"Well...I'm not." Tiffany sighs. "All my clothes make me look fat, and I just look plain and ordinary, and I can't compare to Sandi or Quinn or you..."

"Tiffany, you're gorgeous. Way better looking than I am, easily." Stacy sighs. "I mean, you're a little too thin, I think, but you have such a great face, your eyes are really nice, and you have this great smile, and you are just so pretty, Tiffany! You don't see that?"

Tiffany looks in the mirror again. This time she sees herself looking nicer than she has in a while, but she attributes that to an hour of make-up and preparation. "No. I don't."

"You always look so perfect, you know. Like it's a knack." She leans in conspiratorially. "Don't tell Sandi I said this, _please_, but she gets jealous sometimes. She thinks you're outshining her."

This floors Tiffany. Sandi actually thinks that Tiffany is better looking than she is sometimes? That just doesn't seem possible. "You're just saying that."

Stacy shakes her head dramatically. "No! I swear. It's true."

"Oh."

"And you were going to call off this date?" says Stacy. 

Tiffany nods slowly. "I got nervous."

"Go. I mean, this guy must really like you and I think that you should definitely not lose this chance. I would go too, if this was happening to me." She sighs slightly. "Which it never does."

Tiffany mulls this over for a second. "I'm going to go," she says finally. "I wasn't sure...but...I am now, I think."

Stacy beams. "Great!"

The doorbell rings downstairs. Tiffany hears her father answering it, and then she hears him call her name. "That must be my date," she says. She moves to leave, and then pauses on her way out the door. She turns back around. "Thank you," she says quietly. 

"Anytime," says Stacy with a smile. "Just let me know how it goes, okay?" 

Tiffany nods, and turns to leave again. A wave of nervousness hits her, but she takes a deep breath and goes downstairs. 

****

Steven is waiting for her on the front porch. Her parents don't seem overly interested in her date, but Tiffany does not care. They never show any interest in her dates or anything she does. She is used to it. She shakes like a leaf on the inside, nervous about what will happen. 

When Steven sees her, his eyes grow wide. "Wow," he says. "You look...stunning."

"Thank you," says Tiffany, her voice colored with an uncharacteristic hint of shyness. Steven is immaculately dressed in black. The color definitely suits him. 

"Blue is your color, definitely," he says, gesturing at her dress. 

"I had some help," Tiffany admits. 

"You look wonderful," he says. "Shall we?"

"Shall we what?" says Tiffany, lost already. 

He smiles. "Let's go to my car, okay?" Tiffany nods, and they out of the house and down the front walkway to his car. It's not perfect - a Mazda - but well within the Fashion Club's range of acceptable cars for dating. They get in, and Steven glances over at her. "Chez Pierre okay? I'm new in town, and I didn't really get a chance to look at all the restaurants, but that one seems to be nice enough."

"Oh yes," says Tiffany. "That'll be fine."

He smiles at her again, the nice smile, and they drive off. 

****

Dinner goes well for the first half. Tiffany sits back and lets Steven talk. She's read that this is a good trick to use if you don't know what to say on a date. Given the chance, most people will happily chat on about themselves for the entire night. It turns out that Steven has just moved here from the West Coast. His parents are something important in one of the larger financial companies in Lawndale, and they've moved down here to take over the regional offices. Tiffany vaguely recognizes the name of the company, but she does not have a clue what it does. Something to do with money, she knows. Steven explains it, but it goes over her head. She decides not to inquire further, as this will make her look stupid, and this date is going quite well so far. She doesn't want to mess it up by being herself.

Steven stops in the middle of his story. He smiles. "I'm sorry. I must be boring you to death, mustn't I? You probably don't want to hear about the intricacies of corporate finance."

"That's okay," says Tiffany. "You can keep going if you want."

"I won't torture you any more," he says, grinning. "So...tell me about yourself."

Tiffany instantly freezes up. This is the part where all of her dates go badly. She always opens her mouth to talk, and then the guy with her instantly gets bored and sick of her droning voice. Not this time, however. 

"Why don't you keep telling me your story," she suggests. "I mean, you weren't finished, and it would be rude of me to cut you off in the middle."

"No, I wouldn't mind. I've been hogging the conversation all night..." He tails off and looks at Tiffany. "Tiffany, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she lies. 

"No...no you're not," he says. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

Tiffany doesn't know what to do. She can keep denying it, but he seemed to have seen through that. She could run, but then the date would be over anyway. Or she could just tell him, giving much the same effect as the previous choice. Tiffany sighed. She really had no choice. "Yes," she says slowly. "There's something wrong."

Steven looks worried. "Is it me? I mean, I hope I haven't offended you or anything."

"Oh, no." Tiffany frowns. "What would have offended me?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Please, come on. What's wrong?"

Tiffany looks at him. She doesn't want to tell him, not really. But as she looks into his eyes, there's something there that makes her want to trust him. She takes a deep breath. "It's not you. It's me."

"I..." He pauses. "I don't understand."

"I don't like talking about myself," says Tiffany cautiously. 

"Why not?"

Tiffany pauses, and then shrugs. She might as well go for broke. She doesn't know why, but she wants to be honest with him. "Every time I talk about myself...on dates I mean...they always end."

"Why?" He leans forward, and looks into her eyes. 

"I'm boring," says Tiffany. "No-one wants to hear me talk. Every time I do, the guy always gets bored after a while, and then it's over."

"Oh." Steven looks at her. "I don't think you're boring."

"You haven't heard me talk a lot yet." Tiffany knows that it is taking her some time to get these sentences out, and she is surprised he hasn't left yet. 

"But I want to." He smiles. "I'm sure you're not boring, Tiffany. There's something about you. I saw it that first day at school. That's why I waited for you before school today, to ask you out. There's something about you...something I don't see in the other girls there."

Tiffany does not know quite what to say. "You mean that?"

"Well, I didn't ask you out just because you're beautiful, if that's what you mean." He smiles. 

Tiffany finds herself blushing slightly. "I'm not beautiful," she says softly. 

"Of course you are...you have the prettiest smile...your eyes sparkle...that dress is great on you..." He looks at her. "You really don't think you're anything special?"

Tiffany shakes her head. 

"You are. Trust me." He leans down closer to her. "And I really want you to tell me about yourself."

She is in a daze. Nothing like this has ever happened to her before, and she can barely believe that it's happening now. For almost a minute, she can't speak. Finally, she smiles. "Okay."

****

The rest of dinner goes just as well. Tiffany talks about her life for the first time she can remember. She talks about the Fashion Club and her growing dissatisfaction with it, about her distant relationship with her parents, about her lack of self-esteem. It is strangely liberating, and Steven doesn't even seem to mind that it takes her forever to tell a story. He hangs on every word. 

As they travel home in his car, Tiffany is happier than she has ever been, or at least for as long as she can remember. Much of the trip passes in silence, but every once in a while, she and Steven will glance at each other and smile as they catch each other's eyes. 

The night is going perfectly, but in the back of Tiffany's mind, she worries that something will happen to spoil it. It always does in her life, it seems. 

They get to her house and get out of the car. He takes her hand as they walk up to the door, and the feel of his hand in hers makes her smile. His skin is soft, and it feels good to have someone hold her hand like that. Tiffany cannot remember if anyone has ever held her hand.

They reach the door and stop. Tiffany looks up into his eyes. "Thank you for dinner," she says slowly. "I had a great time."

"I did too."

Tiffany can't get one niggling thought out of her head. This still seems much too good to be true, so she goes for broke. "This isn't...you weren't told to do this, were you?"

"What?" He blinks in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"One of my friends didn't...make you do this, did they?" Tiffany pauses. "You know...pretend to like me, to cheer me up?"

"No!" He frowns, and looks into her eyes. "Why would you ever think that?"

"Well..." Tiffany sighs again. "This all seems too good to be true...nothing like this ever happens to me...and you're listening to me, and you're not caring that it's taking me so long to tell all my stories..." She tails off. "I just don't see how anyone could..." 

She is interrupted by Steven, who suddenly leans forward and presses his lips to her own. Tiffany is taken aback at first, but then realizes how nice he feels, how nice he tastes. There's all sorts of feelings running through her head, more than she has ever felt before. She puts all her fear to the side. She wraps her arms around Steven's neck and pulls him closer, deepening the kiss. After a short while, they break off and look at each other awkwardly.

"Um," says Tiffany.

"Yeah," says Steven. "Er. Sorry."

"What for?"

"You were being kind of down on yourself, and I didn't know what to do to tell you how great I think you are, so...I just showed you. Sorry."

"That's okay," says Tiffany. "It worked." 

"It did?"

"Kind of," she says, unable to keep the smile from her face.

"I'm glad. I do think you're great, you know."

Tiffany still doesn't know why he thinks this, but she just smiles. "Thank you," she says softly. 

"You're welcome." He turns and walks towards his car. Just before he gets there, he turns, and looks at her. "Are you busy tomorrow night?" 

"I..." Tiffany shakes her head. "No. Not really."

"Want to go out again?" He pauses. "I mean, if you want to."

Tiffany pauses. Sandi didn't really like members of the Fashion Club dating the same guy night after night. But somehow, Tiffany finds that at this moment that she doesn't care overmuch about what Sandi thinks. "I'd love to," she says shyly. 

He smiles and gets into his car. "I'll see you tomorrow," he calls from the window as he drives off. Tiffany watches him go, and she walks back into the house, her heart jumping for joy.

****

That night, Tiffany dreams. 

It's not something that usually happens. In fact, she can't remember the last time she ever dreamed. Dreaming about things only increased her disappointment when the dreams don't come true. 

Tonight, she dreams. She dreams about a world in which she is happy, in which people think she is interesting and beautiful, in which her friends love her for who she is and not how much she can brown-nose, and where she has someone who loves her, respects her, and listens to her. 

Tonight, it doesn't seem as impossible as it had before. 

****

The next day at school, Tiffany is walking on air. The world seems so much more colorful than before, more vibrant, more _alive. _As she walks in through the front door, Stacy spies her and runs over. "How did it go?"

"It was...wonderful," says Tiffany, smiling vibrantly. 

"Oh Tiffany!" gushes Stacy. "I'm so happy! I knew it was going to go great!"

Tiffany looks at her friend with feeling. "Stacy...um...thanks."

"What for?"

"Well..." Tiffany smiles again. "For persuading me to go out with him. When I wasn't going to."

Stacy smiles. "I knew it would work out," she says softly. 

Tiffany slips an arm around Stacy and hugs her briefly. They part as they hear Sandi's unmistakable voice coming towards them. "What's the big occasion, Stacy?"

Stacy looks at Sandi. "Tiffany was just thanking me for helping her with her date last night."

"Oh. _That._" Sandi snorts. "Was it as much of a crushing disappointment as I thought it would be?"

Tiffany ignores Sandi's mean comments. Stacy, on the other hand, uncharacteristically folds her arms and glares at Sandi. "That was rather mean, Sandi."

"What?" Sandi frowns at Stacy. "What did you say?" 

"Stacy..." begins Tiffany, but Stacy is not to be stopped. 

"You could have at least asked Tiffany how her date went."

"Stacy, I don't think..." Sandi begins with a nasty look on her face. At that moment, Quinn comes into the school. She stops when she sees the other three, clearly involved in a tense situation. 

"What's going on?" she asks. 

"Stacy is being terribly anarchistic," glares Sandi. "She's about _this_ close to losing her position in this club."

"Sandi was being rude to Tiffany," says Stacy, not backing down. "She was awful about her date last night."

"Oh, that!" says Quinn. She turns to Tiffany. "How did it go?"

"Quinn!" fumes Sandi. 

Quinn frowns at Sandi. "Stacy's right, Sandi. Tiffany had a big date last night, and you can't even be supportive. What sort of friend are you?"

Sandi can't speak. Her face is filled with confusion and anger. Finally, she turns on her heel and stomps off, leaving the remaining three members of the Fashion Club standing in the hallway. Tiffany is stunned. She isn't even sure what just happened. 

"I..." she begins. "Um."

"She deserved that," says Quinn. "She's horrible to you sometimes."

Stacy nods in agreement. "I mean, she's supposed to be your friend, but you'd never know it by how she acts."

Tiffany is speechless. "You really care about me," she says quietly. 

"Of course!" says Quinn. 

"We're your friends," adds Stacy. "Now how was your date?"

"Don't spare any details," says Quinn, with a smile. 

Tiffany is touched. In the past two days, her friends have shown more concern and affection for her than in the past year or so. For the first time in a long, long while, Tiffany feels as if her life could be looking up. She begins to tell her friends about her date last night. 

****

A few months later, Tiffany walks into the school and finds Stacy and Quinn waiting for her. She smiles, and quickens her pace somewhat. When she reaches them, Quinn raises an eyebrow expectantly. "So?"

"So what?" says Tiffany. 

"So what?" asks Stacy, her face round with amazement. "Oh, I can't believe you said that!"

"I don't know what you mean," says Tiffany.

"You and Steven!" says Quinn. "Wasn't last night your six month anniversary?"

Tiffany thinks about this for a few moments. "No," she says finally. "That's tonight."

Quinn and Stacy look at each other, their faces kind of disappointed. "Damn," says Quinn. "I kind of had myself psyched for that."

"Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow," says Stacy, with a knowing look. 

Tiffany smiles. "I'll tell you all about it, I promise." 

The other two smile back at her. Quinn glances at her watch. "Crap. Have to jet."

"Me too," says Stacy. "See you at lunch, okay?"

Tiffany nods. "Okay." She watches them walk off, and then heads down the corridor in the opposite direction, thinking to herself. The past six months had passed almost in an instant. Tiffany was amazed at how much had happened since her first date with Steven. Ever since that day after her first date, things had been so much different. 

She and Steven had continued dating since then. Tonight was to be their six-month anniversary. He was everything to her, and she knew that she was everything to him. Just being with him gave her so much self-confidence, and she no longer felt dull, unattractive, or stupid. Sure, she was still pretty slow upstairs, but it didn't seem to matter now. Now she felt as if she could actually accomplish something in life. She felt as if she could work past that. She was happy being herself. Her grades had actually gone up, she had more self-confidence, and she felt inspired. 

It wasn't only being with him that had changed things. Stacy and Quinn had shown themselves to be real friends over the past six months. After Sandi had stormed off, she had fired the three of them from the Fashion Club the next day. Tiffany hadn't minded, and surprisingly, Stacy and Quinn hadn't seemed to mind, either. 

Tiffany realizes she does not miss Sandi. 

Someone walks up behind her, and taps her on the shoulder. Only one person ever does that. She turns, and just as she thought, it's Steven. She kisses him lightly on the lips. "Hi."

"Hey," he says, returning the kiss. "How are you?"

"Better. Now that I've seen you," she adds. She smiles bashfully. "I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"By what?"

Tiffany thinks. "Everything," she says finally. "Everything has just been so...wonderful since you came here."

"That wasn't my plan," he says, grinning. "Or was it?"

Tiffany frowns. "I don't know."

"Joking." He slips his hand into hers. "Hey. We still on for tonight?"

"Sure. It's our six-month anniversary," she says. She isn't going to miss this for anything. 

He gives her another smile. After all this time, she still can't get over how nice his smile is. "I'll pick you up around seven, then?"

"Where are you taking me?" 

"It's a secret."

"Oh." Tiffany frowns. "Is it nice?"

"For you - anything." He gives her another quick kiss and leaves. Tiffany stands in the corridor, looking after him. 

****

That night, Quinn and Stacy come up to Tiffany's bedroom to help her get ready for her date. It's the longest she's ever gone out with a guy, and they want to make this as special a date as they can. Tiffany is touched by this. It's more than anyone has done for her. 

One thing that hasn't changed in the last six months is her relationship with her parents. It's still as cold and distant as it ever was. Actually, Tiffany couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper conversation with them. It is as if she hasn't even talked to them for the last six months. 

At least she still has Quinn and Stacy - real friends who are always there for her, at least now. They are very close, and she is grateful for that. More grateful than she could ever put into words. 

Stacy finishes rummaging through Tiffany's closet, and finally comes out with a pair of shoes. "How about these?"

Quinn glances at them. "With that dress? Stacy, please."

Stacy pouts, and resumes her search. Quinn turns to Tiffany and smiles. "How do you feel?"

"About what?"

"Tonight."

"Oh." Tiffany thinks. "Nervous. I know it's just a date...but it's not _just _a date, you know? It's special."

"I know," says Quinn sympathetically. "It's going to go just fine, Tiffany, really..." She pauses. "I wish I had someone like that. My dating life hasn't been much to write home about lately." 

Tiffany looks at her. "I'm sure it'll get better."

"I know." Quinn looks at her. "But this is your night. Don't let me get you down with my moaning, okay?"

Tiffany smiles and squeezes her hand supportively. "You guys have done so much for me over the past few months...I don't know what to say, really..."

"Don't say anything," says Quinn. "You're our friend, Tiffany. You deserve all of this. Sandi was much too hard on you. It's the least we could do."

Tiffany reaches over and hugs Quinn close for a moment. As they break off, Stacy walks out of the closet again, holding another pair of shoes. "How about these?"

Quinn grins approvingly. "Much better. Tiffany, what do you think?"

"I..." Tiffany frowns. "I guess."

"They'll look great," gushes Stacy. "Trust us."

Quinn glances over to Tiffany again. "Okay. Your hair should be ready in a few minutes, we've got the shoes and the dress. Any questions?"

Tiffany thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. "No."

Quinn and Stacy go back to their duties, and Tiffany sits back and waits. 

****

An hour later, Steven comes to pick her up. As she opens the door, his eyes go wide. "Wow!" is all he is able to say. 

"Is that a good wow?" asks Tiffany with some concern. 

"_Very_ good," he adds. "You look...I don't know...amazing doesn't even begin to describe it. You're beautiful."

Tiffany blushes. "You're just saying that."

He shakes his head. "You know I can't lie to you."

This is true. In all of the time that she has known him, he hasn't lied to her. She looks down at the floor, embarrassed by the compliment. 

"Shall we go?" he asks. 

Tiffany nods. As she walks out, she turns and looks back inside the house. Stacy and Quinn wanted to watch Steven's reaction when he saw her. By the looks on their faces, they are pleased with the situation. They wave to Tiffany. She waves back, and follows Steven to his car. 

****

It transpires that he is taking her to Governor's Park restaurant. Tiffany knows the place - it's very expensive and very exclusive. Dinner must be costing him a small fortune. This touches her, and she can't help but feel like the love-struck teenager she is. 

They are greeted by the concierge, and seated at one of the best seats in the house. Tiffany leans over to him as soon as they sit down. "Are you sure you can afford this?" That's a social faux-pas, but Tiffany really wants to know. 

He shrugs. "You're worth every penny, Tiffany. I want our six-month anniversary to be special, and you can't get much more special than this."  
Tiffany looks at him, stunned. "Wow."

He smiles. "What?"

Tiffany shakes her head. "It's nothing. I just... still can't believe that someone would do all this for...me."

"Even after all this time?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. 

She nods. 

He smiles again. "I brought something with me...you know, something that I think shows just how special you are."

"A present?" Tiffany smiles. She loves getting presents. "For me?"

He nods. He reaches down under the table, and reaches into a bag. Tiffany hadn't even noticed that he had a bag with him when she came in, but she usually misses details like that. He rummages in it for a few seconds, and eventually comes back up with a plastic tube. "Here," he says, a little awkwardly, and presents it to Tiffany. 

Tiffany takes it and looks at it. Inside the tube is a rose. It isn't a regular rose, however. It's black, a jet black, so deep that no light shines off it. It's beautiful, but disturbing, too although Tiffany can't explain why. "It's...beautiful," she says. "Is it...real? I mean, is it..."

"It's real," he says. "My Mom...she's kind of an amateur gardener. I saw it, and it reminded me of you."

"I don't..." Tiffany pauses. She's speechless. All of her emotions are on overload. 

"You're one of a kind, Tiffany," he says tenderly, "just like the rose."

Tiffany feels her eyes tearing up. "Wow," she says softly. 

"Are you okay?" he says.

Tiffany nods quickly. "They're...it's good," she says quietly. "Really."

He smiles. "Good."

****

After dinner, they are up at Lover's Point, overlooking the quarry outside Lawndale. Tiffany is stand by the car, looking down over the town, Steven beside her. It is a warm night, not quite dark yet. The setting sun casts a warm orange glow over Lawndale. To Tiffany, Lawndale looks nicer than it ever has. 

"Enjoying the view?" asks Steven. 

Tiffany nods. "Yes. It's...wonderful."

"I'm glad." 

Tiffany looks into Steven's eyes, then slips an arm around his waist, and pulls him into a kiss. He responds gladly. 

Tiffany loves kissing him. He tastes so good, and the feel of his body next to hers is perhaps the most wonderful feeling she has ever known. She opens her mouth, drawing him in, and he responds. 

After a few minutes of deep kissing, they break off and look each other in the eyes. "Thank you for a...wonderful night," says Tiffany tenderly. 

"You're worth it," he says. His expression unexpectedly goes more serious. "Tiffany..."

Tiffany notices this instantly. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"No..." He smiles. "Nothing at all. I just...well..." He pauses. "I love you." 

Tiffany's eyes open wide in shock. Did she just hear what she thought she had? "You....love _me_?"

He nods. "The past six months have been...incredible. I never thought I'd meet anyone quite like you, Tiffany. I love you."

Tiffany stands there, her mind racing a million miles a minute. She never thought this would happen to her. She looks at the black rose again, then back at Steven, totally overwhelmed by this turn of events. Tears run down her cheek, and she hasn't the faintest idea what to say. 

Steven looks at her, a worried expression on his face. "I didn't say something wrong, did I? Are you okay?"

Tiffany buries her face in her shirt and sniffs. "Yes. Yes, everything's...great."

"Then..."

"I love you, too," she says, and she reaches up and pulls him into another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to draw him closer. It is wonderful to be in his arms, but it is even better to hear someone say that they love you. It's never happened to Tiffany before. Steven's words seemed to flow straight into her heart. It felt wonderful. 

Tiffany realizes that she does love him, she loves him more than anything. All she wants is to be with him. She kisses him and wishes that this night would never end. 

****

It does, sadly. An hour or so later, Steven drops her back off at her front door. They did nothing else after the kiss apart from sitting on a bench together and watch the city. Tiffany had wondered if things were going to go further, but she was still nervous about that. Steven hadn't mentioned it at all, as if he knew she wasn't ready. He was perfect, she thought with a smile. And he was hers. 

He walks her up to her front door, and they look at each other for a moment, slightly awkwardly. "Thank you for...a wonderful night," says Tiffany.

"You're welcome," he says with a smile. "So...I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," she says softly. They kiss again. Tiffany really can't get enough of these kisses. 

He smiles, and walks away. He turns before he reaches the car. "I love you."

It still feels wonderful to hear him say it. "I love you too," says Tiffany softly. She watches him leave then goes back inside the house and walks back upstairs. She flops down on the bed,. and after a moment grabs the phone. After punching the speed dial, she waits, and eventually Stacy's voice comes on the line. 

"Hello?"

"Stacy?"

"Tiffany!" Stacy sounds excited. "How did it go? Where did he take you? Was it expensive? I bet it was!"

Tiffany quickly fills in most of the details about the night, up until the events at Lover's Leap. She pauses when she gets there, still excited about what happened. 

"Tiffany?" says Stacy. "What happened then?"

"He..." Tiffany smiles a little at the memory. "He said he loved me."

There is a brief pause, then: "OMIGOD! He did? Wow!" Stacy pauses to catch her breath. "What did it feel like? I've never had anyone say that to me before? Was it good, or scary, or..."

"It was wonderful," says Tiffany softly. "It really was."

There is nothing but a slight noise at the other end of the phone line. Tiffany frowns and tries to identify it. It sounds an awful lot like crying. "Stacy?"

A pause. "Yes?"

"Are you crying?"

Stacy sniffles. "Yes. I can't help it! This is just so cool! My best friend...and this great guy...and..." She tails off and begins wailing again. "It's just so beautiful!"

"There, there," says Tiffany soothingly as Stacy keeps crying and repeating about how great this is and how happy she is. This goes on for quite a while. Eventually, Stacy gets off the phone, and Tiffany settles down in bed, smiling to herself and thinking of Steven. This is the happiest that she has ever been, and Tiffany cannot think of any way in which her life could get any better. 

****

The next day in school, Tiffany is in quite an odd mood. She can't help feeling that she should be feeling on top of the world. After all, her boyfriend, a man she loves, has just told her that he is in love with her. That enough is sufficient cause to be happy. 

But there's also the fact that she's doing well in school, and her friends are closer to her than ever. Shouldn't she be really, really happy?

Instead, she is slightly...off. She can't explain it, but there's a small voice in the back of her mind telling her that this seems too good to be true. This amount of good things never happens to her. 

Tiffany dismisses it. She figures that she is just not used to this much happiness, and her own low self-esteem is telling her she can't be happy. So she's just going to work past it. 

As she mulls this over, she hears someone behind her call out her name. She frowns and turns around. It's Sandi. 

Tiffany is quite surprised, to say the least. She hasn't seen Sandi since that day that Stacy stood up to her, six months ago. In fact, she hasn't seen Sandi at all in six months, which seems odd. "Hi, Sandi," Tiffany says, and things begin to feel a little unreal. 

"Hello, Tiffany," says Sandi. There's something in her voice Tiffany doesn't recognize from their previous meetings. What is it? An apologetic quality, she thinks, which isn't like Sandi at all. "Can I talk to you?" Sandi goes on.

The weird feeling in the back of Tiffany's head gets a little stronger. "I guess," she says slowly. 

"Look...I know we haven't talked in a few months." Sandi pauses. "Look, I was wrong, okay?"

The weird feeling becomes painful. It's developing into a full-blown headache. Tiffany has trouble concentrating on what Sandi is saying. "What?"

"I said..." Sandi sighs and looks up. In Sandi's eyes is a great sadness that Tiffany hasn't seen before. "I'm sorry, okay? I was wrong to treat you like I did, belittling you and putting you down, and always using you as a yes-man. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."

The pain in Tiffany's head erupts, and she cries out in pain. As she does so, Sandi steps back in alarm. "Tiffany? What's wrong?"

Tiffany tries to focus on Sandi through the agony in her head, but the world begins to swim in front of her eyes. Tiffany gasps as another jolt of pain runs through her head. She runs from Sandi through the school corridor trying to find Steven, trying to find anyone who can tell her why this is happening and what she can do to stop it. Her head is pounding now. The school walls wobble in her vision as she barrels down the corridor, and she can't find Steven and she doesn't know what to do because the pain is just too much. Why is this happening? She's never felt anything like this before and it hurts it hurts it hurts...

A shape appears in front of her. It's Steven ,fading in and out of her vision. He looks worried and says, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

As Tiffany tries to digest what he said, the pain becomes too much and she closes her eyes. When she opens them again, Steven still stands in front of her, but the place where they stand is changing around them. The walls dissolve away, the floor and ceiling redecorate themselves, and the layout of the room changes. Tiffany looks around in shock. They are not in Lawndale High anymore. The pain increases tremendously, and she passes out. 

****

When she comes to, she is lying on the ground. The pain in her head is gone, but she cannot move. She tries, but she is just too weak to do so. She uses every effort to move her head around, to see where she is. As before, she is definitely not in Lawndale High. It is the room that Lawndale High changed into, for lack of a better explanation. 

It is a bare room, nothing in it but one piece of furniture. The walls are red brick, with no paint of wallpaper covering them. The floor is hardwood, similarly bare. The sole piece of furniture is a large leather chair, sitting in the dead center of the room, right in front of Tiffany. Steven is sitting in that chair, staring at her in a concerned manner. "Are you all right?" he says, worriedly. 

"I..." Tiffany frowns and tries to concentrate. She is so lost at the moment. She can't process everything that's going on around her yet. It's still too much. The effort of moving her head around again tires her out, and she passes out again. 

****

The room fades back into her vision, and she looks back up. Nothing has changed, except that Steven now paces around the head of the room, now looking more anxious than ever. He glances over and smiles in relief when he sees her. "Tiffany! You're awake!"

Tiffany finds that she still cannot move any part of her body but her head and neck, and she can only move those with great effort. "Steven...help me..."

"I can't," he says. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"I..." Tiffany pauses, and closes her eyes in disbelief. He refused to help her? That didn't sound like him. "Why?" she asks, opening her eyes again. 

"I need you," he says. "I can't let you go. I need you."

"I'd do anything for you...you know that," says Tiffany, straining to move from the floor without any success. "I'll help you with whatever it is that you need."

"No..." He sighs and looks away. "You wouldn't. Trust me. I had to do it this way, believe me. I wouldn't have done it this way if I'd had a choice."

"I don't understand," says Tiffany, totally confused. She is upset that she is not smart enough to figure this out, not without a lot of help. 

"I know you're not," says Steven, still looking away. "That's why you were perfect."

It doesn't hit her for several seconds and then her jaw drops. She hadn't said a thing out loud, but he knew what she was thinking. That was impossible, wasn't it?

"No," he says. "Not where I'm from, anyway."

Tiffany frowns and tries to concentrate. She is lost and can't process everything that's going on around her yet. Exhausted by her continuing efforts to move, and unable to figure out what's going on, Tiffany blacks out. 

****

A voice cuts through the darkness. "I need you awake. Please wake up."

Tiffany stirs back into consciousness again. Steven swims into sight. She struggles to remember what they were talking about before she blacked out. "Why is this happening?" she asks. 

"I needed someone like you," he says. "You were the perfect fit."

"Needed me? But...I thought you were just a high school student. What could you need me for...that would need you to kidnap me?" A horrible thought comes to Tiffany, and she tries to block it out. 

"Not that," says Steven with a frown. "Who do you think I am?"

"I don't know who you are, not anymore," says Tiffany. She starts to cry. "I thought you..." She stops and tries not to break down. "Who are you?" 

"It's..." he pauses. "It's difficult to explain. Especially to someone like you."

Tiffany can't help it. She lets out a loud sob. 

"I didn't mean it like that," he says suddenly. "I...I don't know what other way to say it."

She falls silent again, letting the tears run down her face. 

"I'm not from here. I'm from...somewhere else. I'm just trapped here."

"Here? Lawndale?"

"Not exactly Lawndale. Just on some of the more primitive areas of...well, it's hard to explain." He pauses. "There are worlds other than the ones you know about, let's put it like that."

"What?" Tiffany sobs again. "I don't understand."

"I told you it was going to be difficult. You probably should have listened to me."

"I did listen to you! I've been listening to you for the past six months! I thought you...loved me."

"We weren't dating for six months, Tiffany."

"I..." Tiffany shakes her head. "We were. I remember it."

He shakes his head. "None of that was real."

"What?" Tiffany closes her eyes. "You're lying. You have to be."

"Think about it, Tiffany? Didn't it ever seem strange to you? How your luck changed seemingly overnight? How everything suddenly started working out for you?"

"I..." Tiffany closes her eyes. "Yes," she says quietly. 

"How Stacy and Quinn became the friends you've always wanted? How a guy picked you over everyone else in the school? How Sandi just disappears when that's all you've ever wanted her to do, because of how much you hate her?"

"I don't hate her," mumbles Tiffany. 

"But you wanted her to go away for a while, didn't you? And then you had her come back to grovel at your feet..."  
"Shut up."

"And becoming even more popular in the school, your studies improving..."

"Shut up!" yells Tiffany through her tears.

"I'm sorry it couldn't last, Tiffany," says Steven, his tone changing to one of sympathy. "I only wanted you to be happy. I gave you everything you ever wanted."

"Why...why did it fail?" says Tiffany, already suspecting the answer. 

"You already know," says Steven. "Don't you? It was a little too perfect. You had everything you wanted in life right at your fingertips, and it was too much for you to handle. You had...have such low self-esteem that you couldn't accept it was really happening. After that night on Lover's Leap, when you had the most perfect night of your entire life, you knew what was wrong. Sandi coming to apologize was the last straw. Your mind rebelled, and the whole thing fell apart." He pauses. "And I'm sorry for that."

Tiffany closes her eyes, and thinks about nothing but the feeling of the tears running down her face. She wonders if they are ever going to stop. "Why?" she asks in a small voice. 

"I needed you," he says. "I...still need you."

"You used me," she says. 

"Yes..." He sighs. "Yes, I did, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't know what else to do."

"Why do you need me?" 

"I need you..." He tails off again. "I just do, Tiffany. We don't have much time. She'll be here soon. She's probably already figured out what I'm trying to do."

"She? Who is she?"

"The person who trapped me here. I'm doing something she never thought I'd be able to do, and I know she's found out about it." He looks at Tiffany. "I was kind of figuring that my little fantasy would last until I could be more ready, but I'll make do."

"I still don't understand!" yells Tiffany. This entire situation is scaring the hell out of her. She can't remember the last time she felt so utterly helpless. "Who is she? Who are _you_?"

"Do you know how long I've been here, Tiffany?"

Tiffany shakes her head. 

"Longer than you've been alive. Longer than anyone in your family has been alive. Longer than your country has even existed. Much, much longer. I've been here waiting and trying to marshal what powers I still have."

"I don't understand." 

"And you won't. The only reason I'm not being more specific is because your mind wouldn't be able to handle it." He pauses. "Don't feel bad, though. I doubt anyone in that place could."

"That place?" Tiffany thinks. "You mean Lawndale."

"Of course."

Something else occurs to Tiffany. "The way you said that...we're not in Lawndale?"

"Not by a long shot."

"Then..."

"We're in my prison."

"It looks like this?" Tiffany glances round the non-descript room again. "Wow. It looks so...boring."

"Not quite like this," says Steven dryly. "Your mind's just converting it into something you can comprehend. If you saw what it really looked like...well, I doubt you'd be able to speak. Ever again."

"Then where..."

"Close to Lawndale. In a dimensional sense, anyway. She thought she'd trapped me, but I found that I could reach out...just a little at first, but it got larger over time...so much time." 

"Are you talking about magic?" asks Tiffany in disbelief. 

"You could call it that." He shakes his head. "I got lucky. I found you, a person who fit all the right criteria, who just happened to be right where I wanted. It was fate, I guess."

"A person who what?"

"I couldn't do this with just anyone." He smiles again. He's trying to do that wonderful smile of his, but now it just looks sinister. "I told you that you were special, Tiffany."

Tiffany doesn't quite know what to say. 

"I need you, Tiffany," he continues. "I just want to be free. Is that so wrong? If you knew how long I'd been here..."

"But why? Why are you here?"

"It doesn't matter," he says dismissively. "Whatever I had done, I've paid for it a long time ago. I just want to be free again. And I need you to do it. She wouldn't understand."

"Who is she?"

"She..." He pauses. "There is a hierarchy to this sort of thing, a sort of code of conduct, if you will. Let's just say that she's far above me, in terms of power, and of rank. I..." He tails off. "Well, I made some mistakes. I certainly didn't deserve this, though!"

"What do I have to do?" asks Tiffany, still not feeling quite right about this whole thing. 

"I know you're feeling kind of apprehensive," he says with a smile. "You can trust me."

He smiles again, and Tiffany remembers all the wonderful times they had, and she wants to trust him, but...

"You lied to me," she says. "Everything you said was a lie. How can I trust you now?"

"I lied because I had to," he says. "I never wanted to hurt you. I gave you the happiest times of your life. I can do it again."

"But it failed," says Tiffany frowning. "How can you do it again if it failed the first time?"

"I can make it better. Well, worse actually. Make it more believable, but still good for you. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. You know that."

Tiffany thinks back to all the wonderful memories she has of the time they had together, and it is tempting. But...

"Rest now," he says. "I need time to prepare." 

And Tiffany's world goes dark again. 

****

The world explodes into life again. Tiffany is awake, still in the room. Steven remains in front of her, his eyes closed, deep in thought. "Steven?"

"She's coming," he says, very worried. "We haven't a lot of time at all."

"I still don't know what is going on," she says. "You've made me offers, but I don't know what for, and what will happen. Tell me, please."

"I need to escape. I can only do that with your help. If you help me, I'll give you all of your desires, and you know I can."

"How can I help you?"

"You don't even have to do anything. Just agree, and I can do what I need to. You can live your life in paradise. Tiffany, think about it. Eternal happiness and contentment. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

"I..." Tiffany tries to get up, but finds that she still can't. "And why can't I move?"

"You can't move because you don't want to." He looks at her. "You're doing it, not me."

She shakes her head. "What?"

"Tiffany, I need an answer. As quickly as possible." He glances around nervously as he says that. "She's closer now."

"I need answers too. What will happen to me when you escape?"

"You'll go back into the fantasy. And you'll never come out, I promise."

Suddenly the pieces fall together in Tiffany's mind. "You're going to leave me here while you leave."

He nods. "Yes. We'll be swapping places, so to speak. I only need you to agree, and then I can finish it. I've been waiting for this for so long, I've manage to eke out enough power to do this one more thing. I only have one shot. Your body will be here, but your mind will be in happiness. Not a bad trade, I think."

More pieces begin to slot themselves into her head. "You need me to agree."

"Yes. I can't do it otherwise. That's how it works." A noise begins in the background. It is like a low hum, barely noticeable, but steadily growing in volume. Steven looks terrified. "She's almost here! Tiffany...if she finds out what I'm doing, she'll punish me. I won't be able to gather enough power ever again. She'll make sure of that. I'm surprised it took her this long to notice I was doing it. Please, Tiffany."

"You..." Tiffany closes her eyes and tries to think. Her head hurts. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it? You were just trying to make me love you. So I wouldn't say no to this."

"But you're special," he insists. "Maybe that was it at first, but I really do want you to be happy, Tiffany. I can do that for you."

"Would I be trapped here? Like you were?"

"You're already trapped. That life of yours? That stupid Fashion Club? If that isn't a giant, stifling trap, I don't know what is. You had a miserable life before I came along, Tiffany. Leave, and you'll just be going back. You want that?"

"Leave?" says Tiffany distantly. 

The hum is really getting quite loud now. Steven is getting more and more agitated. "Tiffany, please! Help me!"

"You used me," says Tiffany softly. 

"Yes, I used you. I gave you what you wanted, didn't I?"

"I worshipped you and you used me," says Tiffany, a little louder. "You don't love me. You don't even care about me. All you want is to get out."

Steven stares at her. "That isn't true."

"Yes it is. Ever since we've gotten here, you've kept making all these little comments about how slow and stupid I am. You act like you care, but you don't. I'm not so stupid that I don't know that. I'm not so slow that I don't notice things."

The loud hum turns into a crash, as something reverberates though the ceiling. Steven glances up in utter terror. "She's here. Oh God." He turns to Tiffany. "Listen, you little bitch, help me. You know that you have nothing back there. That's why I picked you. No self esteem, nothing to go back for, no friends, no damn life! You go back, you're nothing, okay? You know that, I know that. So do this! At least you'd have some fake happiness. That's about all you're going to get, Tiffany."

"You're wrong," says Tiffany. To her surprise, she finds that she can actually stand up now. She rather unsteadily gets to her feet. "I know why I can move now. I couldn't move before...you said I was doing it. I was. I couldn't move because I thought I still loved you, and you loved me. That's what was keeping me here, wasn't it?"

He glowers at her, but says nothing. Another crash comes from above, and he looks up at the ceiling again, looking completely terrified now. "Tiffany..."

"You said you gave me everything," says Tiffany slowly. "But you didn't. You just showed me that I could do it myself. And I..." She tails off again, more tears falling down her face. "I loved you for that. I thought you loved me too. But I can do this by myself. I don't need you."

"Listen to me!" Another crash. The roof is beginning to buckle now. "You bitch! After all I did for you..."

"You know what really hurts?" says Tiffany softly. "I would have done anything for you...if you'd only asked me."

"You can tell yourself anything you want. But we both know that you're nothing, Tiffany. You might as well give up your life for me, it's not as if you're ever going to use it for anything worthwhile! Everyone thinks you're stupid, everyone thinks you're slow! You know that! You even hate yourself!"

"I had low self-esteem," says Tiffany quietly. "But I have enough to do this." She turns and begins to walk away. She walks towards a door in the back of the room, a door she knew was not there before. 

"Tiffany!" yells Steven, from behind her as a crash signals that something has broken through the roof. "You're right, you little bitch! I never loved you! I was only using you! You think anyone's ever really going to love you?" His final words are drowned out by a large crashing sound, as the roof collapses. Tiffany grits her teeth and walks through the door, not looking behind her. 

A light flashes. When it clears, Tiffany finds herself back in Lawndale. A quick look around shows that she is in downtown, along her route to go to school. She glances behind her, but all she sees is a brick wall at the back of a building. No door, nothing. She checks her watch, and the date display shows that it is the same day that she met Steven, or thought she did. 

Tiffany shakes her head to clear it. So much had happened to her...except that it hadn't, had it? Tiffany is still a little unclear about what happened, exactly, but she knows that it hurts. A lot. No-one has ever been close enough to hurt her like that before, and even though most of it wasn't real, it doesn't stop her from breaking down and crying. 

But there's a sense of calm, too, a sense that she did the right thing, and didn't let someone use her. She wouldn't have been able to do that before. 

It still doesn't stop the hurt, though. 

Tiffany wipes her eyes, and checks her face in her compact. Tears are still running down her cheeks, ruining her makeup. She decides to go home and skip school today. Her parents won't even notice. Then, tonight she is going to call the others and see if they can get together. 

Maybe, just maybe, they will act like they did in her fantasy. Tiffany thinks it's possible. After all, all she had to do there was to act a little more confident. And she knows now she doesn't need anyone else to help her act that way. She was confident enough to turn down a life of false eternal happiness, wasn't she? Confident enough to get rid of a guy who was using her. Confident enough to walk away. 

Buoyed by this thought, Tiffany walks home. As she does, she sees something on the ground in front of her. She bends down and picks it up. 

It's a black rose. 

Tiffany stares at it for a moment, then she crumples it up in her fist and throws it away. 

****

The End.

End Notes:

Thanks to my wife. 

Thanks to MTV. 

Thanks to my Beta-Readers: Brandon League, Robert Nowall, Angelinhel, Steven Galloway, Lawndale Stalker, GreyStar, and Roger E. Moore. 

  



End file.
